A youngish lawyer in court today asked me about the blog: "What’s going on with that podcast?"
You may recall that I became engrossed in Serial, the investigative report turned podcast by All Things Considered. I have not been able to finish my review of the lessons in law apparent from that series. Work simply keeps me moving away from this blog and onto other more pressing matters. But it is lunch time, and I have an apple and a bottled water, so here goes.
Episode 4 looks at the question of whether Jay (a possible suspect in this murder mystery) should be believed when he says Adnan murdered Hae Min Lee. When Jay’s girlfriend is questioned by the police, they tell her that "everyone’s a suspect." So she tells the cops that Jay told her he helped Adnan bury the body. She talks about shovels and Jay getting rid of his own clothes so there is nothing to trace back to him, even though Jay swears he wasn’t even with Adnan when the body was buried.
But every time he tells his story to the cops, it changes. First he says that he saw the body in the trunk of Hae’s car on Edmonds street. Then he says it was at Best Buy. Ultimately Jay admits he lied. He says he was afraid there were cameras at Best Buy so he told that Edmonds street story to stay clear of the assumption that he helped kill Hae. He does not want to be a suspect.
What separates Jay from Adnan or anyone else is that he has something to convince the cops he is telling the truth. Jay knows where Hae’s car was dumped. And he takes them there. Even though he has lied to investigators, and perhaps his girlfriend, they believe him because he knows where the car was left.
Of course it is also possible he knows where the car is because he left it there. If Jay is the killer, Adnan has spent the last fifteen years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
Your takeaway? If you are a lawyer – you already know that everyone’s story "changes" over time, even your clients’ stories. More stories are not better than one, truthful story. If you are an accused – the critical question of whether you will be believed may depend on corroboration. Jay led the cops to the car. That ability to show you have the truth may be critical in your case, but you likely should let a lawyer sort out the story before telling anyone.
And there is more news for Adnan Syed – the Maryland Court of Special Appeals has agreed to hear his case. Two prior attempts at a hearing drew the axe, but apparently five or six million listeners may move the needle enough to cause even the robed ones to consider whether Adnan’s trial lawyer (now deceased) botched the investigation and trial, thereby entitling him to a new trial. Fifteen years after the murder, Adnan may catch a break. More to come later on that front.
Apple’s gone. Water bottle is empty. Time to get back to selling reasonable doubt for a reasonable price.